Horizon roll out begins

Mike Fries, CEO of Liberty Global, revealed that its Horizon gateway STB will begin roll out this Spring. Speaking at Cable Congress, Fries said it would be available in Germany, Ireland, Switzerland and The Netherlands before the end of 2012. The price to subscribers would be revealed soon, he said, adding that the box “was not that expensive”.

He explained the biggest complication was in negotiating content rights for all home distribution, as he revealed that Liberty spends an average of $5 a sub on content in Europe to compared to more than double that in the US. He didn’t specify how Liberty affiliated content was accounted for in the comparison.

Fries said Horizon will allow users to access content on multiple screens, give them access to web content and all “with a great user experience”’